Pain
by Terez
Summary: Pepper is attacked.
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer: Iron Man is the property of Marvel and Disney **

**A/n: I want to give a big thank you to all of my reviewers you guys are what keeps me writing even when I think about giving up :)**

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**Pain**

Her whole body screams in agony. Her skin littered in an array of yellow, purple and black; angry welts and bleeding wounds fill in the spaces. Virtually blind, all she can now make out are vague shapes, as her vision swirls with inky black dots and her left eye has swollen shut. Her tongue swims in a pool of blood, while her chest heaves painfully with several broken and fractured ribs; left all but defenseless now, with hands and feet bound after trying to put up a fight.

"Give us the passwords!" the man snarls in her ear, wrenching her head forward by her hair. The ringing in her ears effectively drowns him out, but she knows what he says; it's all he's asked for, for the last hour.

"Go to hell," she rasps out, with as much strength as she can, fighting to stay conscious. He snarls something in response, releasing his grip on her hair as she teeters unsteadily, then smacks her across the face. The force of the blow sends her crumbling to the ground and for a moment she entertains the idea of passing out on the floor. It's all short-lived as he harshly yanks back to her feet by her arm, while she instinctively cries out when he dislocates her shoulder in the process.

"I've had—" he starts to shouts in her ear again, only to stop suddenly. Dazed and confused Pepper spares a glance at her captor over her shoulder, unable to process how an arrow has neatly planted itself in the man's eye socket. Gasping in pain, he sways slightly, pulling her along with him, as really he's the only thing keeping her upright. In her delirious state of mind she doesn't really register another arrow as it darts past her shoulder, driving into the man's heart. He gurgles choking on his own blood before dropping to the ground, pulling her battered body with him as she collapses in a heap of bruises, blood and broken bones.

She's finally able to pull the pieces together when chaos erupts, while the men scramble to protect themselves from those who call The Avengers Tower home. Fighting to stay cautious for a few minutes more, darkness creeps in against her will, pulling her under just as she catches sight of red and gold.

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**A/N: So I'll probably continue…Review!**


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N:Uh…wow…that's the fastest I've ever had an Iron Man story get reviews and so many too! You guys are amazing! Hope this chapter lives up to the hype :)**

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**Broken **

"Pepper," His mind seems to go on autopilot as he drops to his knees in front of her, gently scooping her off the floor as he cradles her listless body to his chest, trying to be mindful with the bulky suit. Reaching up he pushes blood stained hair out of her face, teeth gritted and tears falling as he catches sight of the swollen eye, purple bruising across her check, bloody nose and split lip. He watches as her chest rises in falls in shallow breaths as he stands with her in his arms, the suit confirming his theory of broken ribs. Getting her help is his only thought as he takes off back through the broken window, leaving the others to deal with their intruders.

The two-minute flight seems to take hours.

Getting into the hospital proves to be more difficult than it should as people stand around and stare open mouth the second he gets through the door. Phones out and cameras flash, they'll be all over the news with in the next five minutes. "I need a doctor!" he yells at the receptionist, pushing past people who are now more interested in recording them than anything else.

She stares horrified for a moment before paging for help. In a flurry of movement the doctors take her and questions fly at rapid speed as he struggles to pace. They try to reassure him with comforting words and he wants so desperately to cling to that hope, even with the image of her broken body burned into his mind.

Now he's left to sit in some hard plastic chair, antiseptic hanging thick in the air, helpless, as he trusts her life to someone else.

And tries not to snap, at those still taking his picture.

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**A/N: So…there was more but I liked that last line as an ending, guess there will be a chapter 3.**


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N: So glad to see that you guys are enjoying this story so much, thanks for all the support!**

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**Waiting**

"Can you please stop tapping your foot," Steve sighs with his eyes closed pinching the bridge of his nose in irritation.

Tony shifts in his chair, glaring past Bruce who sits beside him doing a crossword puzzle, locking his gaze on Steve. "I'm sorry," Tony snaps, "didn't mean to disturb the little Ice Princess," he bates out, shoulders set and clearly itching for a fight.

"Don't engage," Clint drawls with his eyes closed, slouched low in his chair on the other side of Tony with his ankles crossed.

"Oh look who decided to wake up!" Tony turns around, directing his anger at Clint.

"I'm not fighting with you Tony," Clint sighs, shifting in the hard plastic seat, far from asleep.

"Have faith friend Stark, Lady Pepper will be well," Thor offers, clearly trying to comfort their frantic friend.

"Tony-" Natasha tries to pull his attention while Clint cringes and shakes his head.

Tony's chest heaves tightly as he swallows thickly, pushing up out of his chair with nothing more than a snarl, stalking towards the front desk.

"You couldn't just let him tap his foot, could you Cap?" Clint grumbles, sinking lower in his chair.

Steve groans and moves to stand, stopped when Bruce places a gentle hand on his shoulder, tossing his newspaper back on his chair. "He might actually hit you, Steve." he offers sympathetically walking off after Tony.

Tony," Bruce calls shaking his head as Tony turns his frantic energy onto the nurse at the desk.

"Mr. Stark," she sighs tiredly, "we'll let you know as soon as we know something,"

"Come on Tony," Bruce pleads, grabbing at his arm. "Let's go sit back down."

"I don't want to go sit back down!" Tony shouts, wrenching his arm from Bruce's grip. "HYDRA broke into my house and beat the hell out of Pepper over some data! Now she's lying on an operation table and theirs nothing I can do! So don't tell me to sit back down!"

"Mr. Stark!" Tony turns sharply as a new voice shouts through the waiting room, his eyes landing on a doctor he'd last seen with Pepper.

Tony stands frozen with fear, now that someone can actually provide him with answers, he's not so sure he wants to hear, finally stumbling forward when Bruce gives him a small push. The doctor walks fast leading him off into a private room and away from prying eyes. Sitting down in the plush chair in the Doctor's office, the man paints a picture in blood letting him know the different injuries they've found and all they've done to put her back together. He listens numbly to it all, with only one thought on his mind as the doctor finishes, "When can I see her?"

Standing in the doorway of the room that will be Pepper's home for a few weeks, he struggles not to collapse at all the tubes, wires and thick bandage surrounding her, leaving her almost unrecognizable.

Grabbing a chair from across the room he settles in beside her bed, as the others stop by one at a time- the doctor having informed them that only two may be in the room at a time. No one says much other than swearing that HYDRA will pay, jaws clenched and shoulder tense as the survey the damage for themselves. In the end Bruce is the last leave, asking only that he try and sleep as follows the rest of group out the front doors and through a sea of reporters. Exhaustion finally begins to set in once he's alone, the sound of the machines whirling around him as the heart monitor lulls him to sleep.

But not for long.

"Pepper," he calls tiredly, when he hears a strangled choke, and the heart monitor begins to beep wildly. Standing quickly he knocks his chair back in a wild panic, trying to calm her down. She chokes on the breathing tube pushing at his hands, frantically struggling to get away. "Pepper calm down," he pleads with her, heart breaking at her petrified look, no doubt believing she's still with her captor. "Damn it, Virginia," he curses, trying to stop her flailing arms. cringing when she cries out the second he places his hands on her. "Nur—" he starts to call for help, only to be cut off as a man in scrubs rushes past him into the room.

"Just push the call button next time Mr. Stark," he tells him, re-administering a set of drugs.

Tony can only stare shell shocked in response, before dropping heavily back into the chair. _Next time_, he thinks, body flooding with fear as he rubs at his face and lowers his head between his knees; chocking back a strangled sob as it all comes crashing down again.

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**A/N: Not sure how much more I have of this, maybe just a chapter on her recovery. If you guys have other ideas just let me know.**


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